Spreading Christmas cheer

St. Edmond students ‘adopt’ an area family

December 20, 2010

Christmas is going to be a bit merrier for an area family this year because of a little help from a group of students from St. Edmond High School.

A single mother and her two young children were "adopted" by the St. Edmond National Honor Society as part of the group's second quarter service project, and will receive their gifts this week, just in time for Christmas.

National Honor Society members raised funds for purchasing gifts through their annual Santa and a Movie Day, an afternoon for children in preschool through fifth grade to be dropped off at the school on a Saturday for arts and crafts, snacks, a Christmas movie and a little time with Santa Claus. Although held during a blizzard this year, the event was still a success, with around 90 children in attendance, St. Edmond NHS Advisor Tyler Philipsen said.

Article Photos

St. Edmond High School Junior Timmi Dencklau puts the finishing touches on a Christmas gift for a boy in the National Honor Society’s adopted family.

Gifts to be given to the adopted family cover a table in the offices of the Holy Trinity Catholic Parish. The gifts were purchased by members of the St. Edmond National Honor Society.

"We try to do at least one service project per quarter, and this is their biggest one," he said. "It was our second quarter service project."

Once the funds were raised, NHS members split up into small groups to shop for the family - a mother and her son and daughter - who are members of one of the Catholic Churches of the Holy Trinity Parish. Enough clothes, toys and other larger gifts were purchased for the family to fill a long table.

The group met Friday afternoon to wrap the gifts, which were taken to the Holy Trinity Parish Office to be delivered to the family.

Philipsen said the hard part of the project is holding the fundraiser and shopping for the gifts.

"That's the hard work, doing the shopping and the Santa fundraiser," he said. "The students get their reward in wrapping the gifts, that's really the pay off for all their hard work."